Hong Kong Journalists Association

The annual report of the Hong Kong Journalists Association highlighted the deterioration of media freedom in Hong Kong after the passage of the National Security Law.

A joint statement by eight Hong Kong press union and media groups described the raid and arrests targeting independent media group Apple Daily as shocking and a threat to press freedom. The groups added that the incident and the authorities’ remarks have spread fear and panic among journalists.

Of the 367 responding journalists, 91 percent said press freedom in Hong Kong had worsened compared to a year ago. The survey was commissioned by the Hong Kong Journalists Association.

Hong Kong media groups said the conviction of journalist Bao Choy Yuk Ling, who accessed a government database for an investigative report regarding a mob attack against protesters in 2019, could have a chilling effect on the industry.

In a letter sent to Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam, several media groups urge the government to open up searches of information. This was prompted by the filing of a case against RTHK producer Bao Choy who was charged after accessing a government vehicle database for an investigative report.

The unilateral revision, which is supposed to identify ‘fake journalists’, is likened to an ‘official accreditation system’ and will ‘seriously impede press freedom in Hong Kong’.

The Hong Kong Journalists Association has released its 2020 media report titled ‘Freedom in Danger’. The report cited the challenges faced by the media sector over the past 12 months such as the COVID-19 crisis and the ‘political storm’ generated by the anti-extradition protests and the recently passed national security law.

Hong Kong’s press freedom index 2019 was the lowest ever since the Hong Kong Journalists Association began the survey in 2013. The sharp decline was attributed to law enforcement violence against journalists covering the widespread protests in the city over the past year.